Warning: mktime() [function.mktime]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EDT/-4.0/DST' instead in /home/owatch/www/www.olbermannwatch.com/docs/countdown.php on line 5KO's new contract with MSNBC ends in...0 days 0 hours 0 minutes

TORTURE DEAL: Jonathan Turley, George Washington University Law School professor

KO's opening spiel was about Musharraf, the detainees compromise, and plugging his Big Interview with ex-Prez Clinton, with clips of Bill Jefferson mouthing several Olby talking points nearly word for word. Wait until you see the "tough questions" we were promised, and what the infamous, deplorable Keith Olbermann does to a colleague who actually commits journalism.

The Hour of Spin proper opened with Orange Man referencing his Krazy Keith Konspiracy of yesterday (the interrogation controversy is a "diversionary" trick), and went directly into Musharraf's claim that Pakistan was threatened with bombing, something Richard Armitage has denied.

This was the cue for Wilkerson's appearance, who had been invited to offer anti-Bush spin on the interrogation issue. (KO sure spends a lot of time on something he claims to be a diversionary trick!)

But first the talk dealt with the Pakistan bombing allegation; Wilkie dismissed it as "preposterous" while echoing some of the same phrases Armitage used and attacking Musharraf for his deal with tribal chieftans (more on that subject later). Krazy Keith oddly took exception with "Mister" Bush for telling reporters what Colin Powell had said about Pakistan at the time, and sputtered:

Is that, did Mister Bush in-, in-, invoke his name immediately in, in, in way of answer to the letter that, uh, that, uh, S-S-Secretary Powell wrote to Senator McCain regarding the Geneva Conventions, is there any kind of retaliatory j-, j-, uh, element to this?

KO asked if Wilkie was pleased with the interrogation compromise by asking "does it meet your smell test?" He replied that he didn't know the details but he knows this all happened as a result of "the administration's ineptitude" because he read it in the Washington Post. But Krazy Keith had another element of OlbySpin to reiterate:

Interrogation at best does not produce consistently reliable information.

Stop the tivo! Is this another stealth Olby rollback? What happened to "torture does not work"? Whatever became of the "unanimous" view that the information obtained is useless? Where did the mantra go that any intelligence obtained is "consistently" worthless? Is it possible someone actually whispered the name Brian Ross in Keith's ear? Yes, we here at Olbermann Watch did, and once again the discredited Keith Olbermann has been forced to back off because of the power and influence of this site.

After KO Great Thanksed Wilkie for his "honesty and frankness" (i.e., for agreeing with The Great Olb), he ran a clip from his interview with Bill Jefferson Clinton to lead into the first break, throwing in additional teases like:

...the current political attitude of you're either with us, or you hate America.

The #4 story was the deal on detainee interrogations, characterized by Olby as "clearly a deal of tortured language". KO complained that "Mister" Bush would be empowered to interpret the Geneva Conventions, as an intro to none other than The Nutty Perfessor. JT said it really does "rewrite the Geneva Convention" and allows too much. Olby groused again about giving any authority to the executive branch, because the interpretation would be made by somebody who is:

...not a lawyer, not a combat veteran, not a former P.O.W....

The Perfessor slipped up, noting that the President always has authority to interpret treaties, but made a quick recovery, grumbling that this is just a justification for "late medieval" techniques, and whipping out the Alberto Gonzalez card. Then Olby was back to his tin-foilery about how it's all a ruse to protect all the torturing the evil adminstration has done in the past. The Perfessor didn't directly address that, and wandered off into the by-ways of how "ludicrous" the agreement is and how the President will now be known as "American torturer".

The Perfessor was particularly agitated over the provision that doesn't permit US sources to cite foreign law in cases involving these interrogation techniques. And that's a bad provision why? JT went on to blame America for the demagoguery of Chavez and his ilk, and that struck a particularly receptive note with the sports guy.

After another Pulitzer-worthy episode of "oddball" came the incessantly promoted Big News--Krazy Keith's eagerly anticipated one-on-one with the former President. Bill Jefferson Clinton finally got around to appearing on The Hour of Spin, after first doing interviews with various broadcast networks, CNN, and Fox (twice!). What a concept: Keith "Man on Fan" Olbermann talking with B.J. Clinton. The synergy is perfect!

There was innocuous chit-chat about Clinton's Global Initiative (it was "transcendant"), with a typical Olbermann moment: he handed over, on camera, a contribution for "eight more schools in Kenya". It's always all about Keith. But this crack journalist isn't going to let this opportunity go by without making real news. A-Mess-NBC promised KO would pepper B.J. with all sorts of "tough questions", and Olby delivered. Tough question #1:

Here in this country, at the moment, there seem to be a lot of us who think that there are, that we are having trouble getting people involved in defending essential ingredients of our country and our heritage; we've heard a lot about anyone who disagrees with the current administration's policy in Iraq or on the war on terror, or even disputes their facts or questions them, would be suffering from moral or intellectual confusion. Or the President talked about, um, how in the world you, uh, you could disagree with him, it's unacceptable to think that we could be ever doing anything in any interrogation process that might be similar to what the terrorists do. When those of us worry about the, the future of the country, and the past of the country, worry about our heritage, what we stand for, are we overreacting, are we nuts, are we exaggerating, or do you feel the, the same threat?

Whew! Welcome to the Carpal Tunnel Zone. It will surprise no one that B.J. replied that on these issues he sides with Olby. As the ex-Prez rambled on, Krazy Keith could be heard in the background muttering, "Right". Hey, we've been saying for years that KO is a Democrat propagandist. At least B.J. realizes it as well. Tough question #2:

The Voltaire quote, about, essentially translated as I will disagree with your writing, your politics, your thought, but I will defend to the death your right to say that, uh, uh, uh, uh, an essence of education in this country, true? I mean, this, is this not what we're supposed to be about, and when we talk about rewriting the Geneva Conventions, or when we talk about demonizing dissent or even, uh, putting a, putting a, just a bad face on dissent in this country, are we not getting closer to what the terrorists want us to change anyway?

Man, Keith is on a roll. This hard-hitting debriefing makes Tim Russert look like Merv Griffin! Who knew Olby had it in him? Tough question #3:

The phone rings tomorrow and it's the current President, and he says things aren't going as well as they might, either for me or for the country. I need a piece of advice and I'm asking you sincerely for it, for one thing that I can do tomorrow that will improve things; you're the, uh, you're the genie now in the political realm again as you were in this building these last three days. What would you say to him if that request came through?

With this kind of tough questioning, all B.J. could come up with was talk of stablizing the Middle East and avoiding unilateralism and making more friends. Well, that's actually three things. Tough question #4:

Two years and, uh, six weeks or so from now, we have a Presidential election, 2008; you got anybody in that race, anybody you like, anybody at all?

Dan Abrams and A-Mess-NBC promised that Keith Olbermann would "ask the tough questions", and boy howdy, did he. He was so wound up that he tossed in this gem as the Hour of Spin ground to a close:

And our compliments to President Clinton for having today staved off a reprehensible sand-bagging by Chris Wallace of what is jokingly referred to as Fox News.

The discredited sports guy, who can criticize movies without viewing them, is now branching out to slamming interviews that haven't even aired yet. How is this possible? Does Swami Olbermannn See All and Know All? Is his middle name Kreskin? In any case, Olby's desperate fulminating about it suggests that Chris Wallace might actually have delivered a few of the tough questions that were promised for tonight but never showed up. See it on Fox News Sunday; check your local listings for time and channel, or watch the replay at 6:00 pm on FNC.

There were an abundance of dogs that did not bark tonight. You will recall how Krazy Keith breathlessly bellowed about Pakistan making an alliance with pro-Taliban tribes, but what about Musharraf, who revealed today that the truth is just the opposite? The alliance is with anti-Taliban tribes, but rather than correct his propaganda, Olby just spiked the story. And then there's The Great Leak Case--KO followed every hiccup on that story, well, every one that wasn't in any way favorable to Bush, Rove, or Scooter Libby. MSNBC's own website reports that the Judge on the case has made a ruling that is a "victory for Libby", and could even result in dismissal of the charges. So where was Slippery Shuster to explain it all away? Why didn't we hear from The Perfessor again about how the Judge would never do such a thing? All of a sudden The Great Leak Case is not news on Countdown. This is why we call it The Hour of Spin, folks.

In his voyage to the bottom of the ratings barrel, Olby continues to languish in fourth place. But he can take heart; rumor is that he did edge out "Bosley Medical Institute" in the key demo of left-handed Druids between the ages of 25-54. The soaring success of Keith's book the book that bears Keith's name finds it ranked #66 at amazon, while Mr Bill's not-yet-released tome comes in at #38. Tonight's MisterMeter reading: 4 [GUARDED]

OLBERSPHERE WEIGHS IN...

TruthStream: Video of the full interview of Bill Clinton from Keith Olbermann.

Newsbusters: On Friday's Countdown, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann featured an interview with former President Clinton, during which he invited Clinton to attack President Bush, while not challenging the former President.

Hot Air: Who thinks it's a good idea to videotape his charitable acts and air them on his television show? A smug, shameless douche with a pathological need for approval, that's who...Johnny Dollar, as always, has a superb recap of the show along with a partial transcription. As you read it, keep in mind that MSNBC advertised tonight's program by promising that Keith would ask Clinton "the tough questions."

118 Comments

Wait a minute, Bill O's book is ahead of KO's at Amazon, KO is firmly entrenched in 4th place again in his time slot - But KO gets rave reviews from every facet of the media all day long - I think even Chavez praised KO ( okay, maybe it sounded like he said that ) , and Bill gets slammed every day, all year long.

What am I missing?? Maybe Clinton will help him out tonight!! They can discuss their various conquests together. Should be fun.

Down to the right of the screen... on that delicious thingee that excerpts blogs that mention Keith we read:

"Dan plots against Keith before he calls in. They play the tape of Bush Senior's thoughts on Chavez's comments about George W. at the UN yesterday, only they tell Keith that Bush is actually talking about him, and what he says about George W. on Countdown."

"There's a pause, into which Dan thankfully jumps to let Keith in on it. The good thing about working with someone for twenty-three years, we learn, is that you know just how long you can let them twist before they say something they'll regret."

Dan!...Dan!...whoever you are.... damn, sweety! You're more friend than this guy deserves...

That was the most nauseating thing I have seen Olby do - and that is saying A LOT! What a suck-up. Does Olby think that anyone in their right mind believes that he is sincere? That was the most contrived act that I have seen from him lately - even more contrived than his "special comments" to sell books. I'm sure the Olbyloons are on the blue blogs just fawning over Mr. Fake Gratitude McAssKiss right now.

He didn't challenge Keith to interview someone in the Bush admin. He "challeneged" him that if he interviews someone in the Bush administration, to be respectful in tone. It wasn't something aimed at KO specifically but the increasingly hostile climate of journalism in todays news.

I'm sure he's being elected Humanitarian of the Year at all the liberal/leftist blogs right now. But for the rest of us with taste and decorum, we know that charity is best done privately and with some degree of modesty. To me this stunt, and it is most certainly yet another well-calculated stunt, reeks of tackiness. There is not one ounce of class in this man's body just as there is not one ounce of truth in what he says.

more of the same old BS from KO tonight. A couple of interesting things i noted.
As was mentioned previously here Olbermann actually handed Clinton a check for his cause on his "news" show which does speak volumes about Olby's hyper-inflated ego. Another first from the nutty Olby. Way to show impartiality dude. I could almost hear you lowering Clinton's zipper.
Clinton , despite his badly soiled and stained reputation actually gave Kieth a little "dig" I think. Paraphrasing Bubba he said to the olbyloon "if you ever talk tot a member of the "opposition" or something to that effect that you not try to demonize them. I wonder if Ol' slickpants was trying to let Olbykook know that in his ifinite lack of wisdom Olbykook does not ask questions of anybody other than those who agree with his agenda .
Clinton also used the stealth term for liberal -"progressive" several times. The man that actually put the "dirty" in the dirty word liberal is now using "progressive" to describe the new looney left. Liberals have come to the harsh realization that the word libeal has some real strong negative connotations with the American public. So what do they do? They have liberals move even further to the left and call themselves progressives. Lipstick on a pig is still just a pig with lipstick.
Clinton also commented , while Kieth panted lustily and teary eyed in the corner, on the present harshness of today's political dialog. Of course the olby-distortion meter warped solidly to the left, blaming the ugliness of the discourse on Bush & co.. Well for six years now we have heard the small whining poodles on the left whine and bitch and complain and moan . Being politically neutered but still having the unending support of mmost of the media the far left wing has done everything it can to denigrate, belittle, ridicule , whine, snivel, cajole,distort, bitch, and bemoan just about everything "This President" and "This Adminitration" has done. Wonder why the politcal discourse is nasty- thank the far left lunatics who were voted out of power for THEIR failed policies . Thank one side fear mongering nutjobs like this Olbermann hypocrite. Tell the Democrats who now seem to have suddenly and interestingly developed an interest in the Constitution and it's meanings after they either distorted it for their left wing pseudo- socialist ideals or just plain ignored it all altogether. Blame it on total whacked out moonbats like Sheehan, O'donnell,Streisand,Peolsi, Kennedy, Feingold and the whole Hollyweird-democrat socialist cabal who have hounded Bush & co like dogs. Blame incoherent sniveling little people like Olbermann who claim impartiality yet don't have the decency or objectivity or even powers of self observation to even realize that they are talking bullshit and hypocrisy when it flows out of thier crooked little mouths on a daily basis. How can Olbermann sit there everyday and condemn George Bush of stifling and condemning dissent and then do the same thing himself by NEVER having anybody that dissents with HIM?. Olbermann's high esteem for himself has caused him to be terminally myopic about his own defintion of dissent.
I cannot believe that Olbermann is allowed saily to display his hypocrisy and sheer stupidity on national TV, I cannot believe that this man can continbuse his juvevile childish attacks on FOX nes like he does daily. FOX may not be the word of God or uncompromising truth but they are way ahead of you OLBY in the reality department. I am getting to the point that I belive that Mr. Olbermann is someday soon going to need an on air intervention to bring him down from his PCP induced delerium and delusion. He should be embarrassed and I know i am when I watch him. He is pathetic.

I'd like to see KO take on Karl Rove first. Only because after that interview I want to see Olby pounding his fists into the desk and screaming. DAMM! DAMM! DAMM! WHERE ARE THOSE INDICTMENTS?????? I BELIVED TRUTHOUT!!!!!!! THEY NEVER LIE!!!!!!!! Or better, Karl Rove gos on and Olby attempts to make a citizens arrest on live tv.

I just look in on this website every once in a while to see what you torture loving folks are up to. You need to get a life and learn to let other live. Oops, I forgot you believe USA stands for torture. And if not torture then murder. Bush and his administration are WAR Criminals.

Um...now if Clinton was a Republican, wouldn't Olbermann have criticized him for suggesting that we SHOULD think? After all, Olbermann found it appropriate to lift three words out of President Bush's speech ("It's unacceptable to think....") and twist them until they were unrecognizable.

Of course, the Olberidiot will let things slide if there's a chance to take a peak at Mister Clinton's little black book. I think even Clinton's castoffs wouldn't go for a Merlot-saturated, pillow-allergic mongrel such as Olbermann. Even hookers have taste.

And this will be one of the platform issues that ALL OF US ON THE LEFT stand for in the '06 and '08 elections.

It's quite simple: American voters, you can vote for those who want to trample on the rights of Al-Qaeda (the Republicans) or you can vote for those who show sympathy and compassion to them (the Democrats).

WOW, 4th place again on thrusday night. I bet we will see that "Special Comment" segment more and more often. Maybe even each and every night as Dr. Orange tries to save the sinking ship. I wonder what Danny Boy is planning now that MSNBC's ratings have slid even further down the gutter. How long do GE Brass give him to "make good"? Should we start a "countdown clock" on both Dr. Orange and Danny Boy.

The conventional definition of insanity is: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

So, I will ask, if a tree falls in the forest, then does it make a sound?
Of course there’s an answer, and a fairly definitive one at that, to this question. It’s absolute and scientific, but you people don’t care for that.

I’ve stated from the get-go that there is nothing here worthy of reading or discussing, I know that. I know that none of the sycophants here can engage in a meaningful straightforward discussion devoid of non-relative tangentials introduced to distract and misdirect. That stands true now as it did three weeks ago.

So, I’m going to phone it in, every time.

Rob-bob and John-jon: still with the unhealthy unrequited Keith Olbermann man-crush? Of course. I don’t know what it feels like to not be loved by the one you love, but I’ll pretend to empathize and I imagine it doesn’t feel too good. The homoerotic undertones of these “articles” (your word, not mine, hence the quotations) is both hilarious and sad. Maybe some day you can stand outside a restaurant and beg Keith to take a picture with you, which you will then place in a special corner of your hope chest.

I see that neither of you has mastered satire. You never will.

What someone should realize at some point is that I’m going to post here without reading your “articles”. And while I may check back to read some of the silly prattle that some unimaginative dolt will idiotically post in response to my comments — I won’t respond to them. Because I know that I directed the sentiment of those comments, there is nothing original or unknowable about them. They are reactionary, and I control the thing reacted to and the reaction. It’s sad that none of you get that.

My contribution to this site, since I have to spell it out, is apathy.
I post here to remind that I post here.
It’s an art within itself.
To deny that is to admit to ignorance of art.

One Kenyan school: $5000
Eight Kenyan schools: $40,000
Touching knees with Bill Clinton for 12 minutes: Priceless!!
Is it just me or is Clintons nose actually decending below his lips now?
Clinton was impressive as he easilly avoided the traps Olbermannn kept trying to drag him into.
It seemed sage advice to interview any member of the Bush Administration and ask them why they they oppose Keiths views. It seems Keiths echo chamber of think-alikes bothers even the ex-prez.

Of course there's an answer, and a fairly definitive one at that, to this question. It's absolute and scientific. When I'm the one doing the banging, Sarah always makes a sound no matter where I bang her.

"And our compliments to President Clinton for having today staved off a reprehensible sand-bagging by Chris Wallace of what is jokingly referred to as Fox News."
************************************************
Aw..poor KO he just knows everyone will be talking more about Wallace's interview where he asks real hard questions than the KO's kiss Bubba's ass interview he did.

In my new book, "The Hopelessly Partisan Guide To American Politics", I alternately laugh at, and skewer, olbermann and his pals (though my co-writer, Barry Sinrod, loves him).

My grandmother would have nailed this guy with two words, one Yiddish and one English. A farbissoner puss.

Some people are so farbissoner (sour, negative, killjoyish) that they even look angry when they're trying to look happy. And if a hall of fame is ever built for people like this, ohbrothermann will have his own wing.

Does he EVER do any material that is optimistic, positive or uplifting? If so, it's news to me.

Does he EVER present both sides of an issue? If so, that's news to me too.

In the world of ohbrothermann, a centrist is someone who wants to impeach and jail Bush instead of hang him.

In my new book, "The Hopelessly Partisan Guide To American Politics", I alternately laugh at, and skewer, olbermann and his pals (though my co-writer, Barry Sinrod, loves him).

My grandmother would have nailed this guy with two words, one Yiddish and one English. A farbissoner puss.

Some people are so farbissoner (sour, negative, killjoyish) that they even look angry when they're trying to look happy. And if a hall of fame is ever built for people like this, ohbrothermann will have his own wing.

Does he EVER do any material that is optimistic, positive or uplifting? If so, it's news to me.

Does he EVER present both sides of an issue? If so, that's news to me too.

In the world of ohbrothermann, a centrist is someone who wants to impeach and jail Bush instead of hang him.

Dude...
Sarah is the forest man. It's a metaphor man. We are the "noise" man and if the tree, which is like hate and war, falls then the forest like contains the noise man. Can't you understand man? Sarah is the forest, and the forest doesn't have to learn anything, it can remain perfectly ignorant man.

Olberdouche has now immortalized himself, to those few watching, as a absolute Bill Clinton sychophant.

A donation is a nice gesture, but.....wow. B.J. was being interviewed, supposedly to be confronted with hard questions. I have never seen such behavior by a supposed journalist in my life! How any self-respecting news organizations could allow their representative such irreponsible behavior is beyond me.

Imagine if this happened on FOX with, lets say, Newt Gingrich, or Rudy Giulianni! Olbertoot would slobber all over it.

TVNEWSER gets all excited over O'Reilly's claim of being on a death list, but ignores journalistic malpractice by their favorite lunatic. Unbelievable. The left has lost ANY shread of self respect. I really feel sorry for them all......

Olberbrown-noser must have taken a REALLY long bath last night. Oh....no, I'm sorry.....he probably won't wash his right hand now that it has held the hand of the almighty!

As you all can see, Sarah has a bit of a fascination with the letter "I." If a selfish girl tries to get negative attention on a blog but nobody really cares about her posts, does she still feel satisfied?

Setting aside everything else about Olbermann - whether he should have guests with opposing views or whether he is sloppy factually - a reporter or journalist really shouldn't be giving donations to a cause - ANY cause - on the air.

This isn't a matter of left or right or Democrats or Republicans or up or down or whether the show is good or poor.

It's just not professional to engage in this activity. If he wants to do it quietly, off camera, that's fine.

But not on the air. That's just really poor judgment. And it doesn't matter whether it's Olbermann or O'Reilly or Brit Hume or the man in the moon. It's just amateurish to do.

I finally got around to watching the Clinton interview and I have to admit that I thought it was basically fine. Of course it was obsequious but what would we expect. That said, I found the stunt with Keith handing over a check to Clinton at the outset to be bizarre on many levels not the least of which the created the appearance the there was a connection between the donation and Keith getting the interview. I have to believe there were more than a few people at NBC News who were more than a little shocked and some who were revolted. It's nice the KO was willing to write a good sized check but to do it on air was transparently phony and, as a person representing a news organization (however badly), completely inappropriate.

Wait, did Johnny Dollar just quote someone from Hot Air giving him a verbal ass kissing?

The interview on Countdown definitely isn't something the right-wing blogs need to get riled up about. Olbermann let Clinton speak and explain his Initiative and his political thoughts, something I doubt you'll see on another program.

And on the Chris Wallace interview, the transcript is out and word gets around. You don't have to be able to tell the future to know what happened in the interview. In my opinion Chris Wallace got his ass handed to him from Clinton after the former President stayed on the topic of Osama Bin Laden when Wallace thought he'd get in a cheap shot or two.

Reading more comments from HotAir. It's like the people over there just discovered the word douche and how it's used in today's culture and they can't get enough of it. The problem being that they're using it in a wrong context, unless of course they just wanted to insult somebody (I wouldn't put it past them).

To begin an interview by giving someone money (donation or not), seems highly unprofessional. I do not have to be convinced that Olberfoot-in-mouth is not a professional journalist, but it is NBC's reputation that is tarnished.

You guys already think FOX is run out of the Rove's basement, but NBC is (was) a respected network. Wallace's tough questioning brought about an acceptable emotional response from B.J. The former President has every right to defend himself and his administration. I may not agree with the over-heated argument, but everyone is allowed their opinion.

Cee, you act as if Olbermann donated to the "Liberals liberals liberals" foundation instead of to a nonpartisan organization to help children in Africa. Tasteless to you as it may seem he actually did a good thing, and I wouldn't care if spent 30 minutes of his program talking about donations if it could help.

Near the end of the Klinton/Olbernutttjob's "interview/donation/love fest/softball game the big PCP olbernuutjob actually had the hypocrisy to mention Fox news' "sandbagging" of Klinton. I find it extremely funny that asking Klinton a real and tough question would be considered "sandbagging. Hey Kiethy Fox sandbagged the ex pervert/rapist while you "teabagged" him. I wonder Mr. Olby how you could even interview Klinton when you had so much of your mouth on his ass.
Hey Olby you big slimeball it's called a real interview when you ask a real question.
I would like to inquire of Mr. Olberloon exactly what journalist credentials you have? What journalism school did you attend? Did they happen to mention that asking tough questions and not massaging both your enormous ego and the ego( among other things) of the person you are interviewing and not handing them money while you are doing the interview might compromise any credibility you might have left?
Olbymen you have taken journalism to a new low? Not that anybody in their right mind(ie liberals) could even remotely describe you as a "journalist".

"Hey Olby you big slimeball it's called a real interview when you ask a real question."

riverdog, you moron. Chris Wallace got the interview by promising to discuss the Clinton Global Initative for the first half of the interview. Clinton agreed ON THOSE TERMS.

The Osama Bin Laden question was the SECOND ONE Wallace asked! When you make a promise to conduct an interview on certain topics, then change the scope AFTER the interviewee has agreed, it is "sandbagging".

And another thing - you bash Olbermann for not showing respect to the current President, yet you are willing to call a former President a rapist and pervert. You, sir, are a hypocrite and I call you on your bullshit.

Anonymous, whichever courageous OlbyLoon this one happens to be, is wrong as usual. The agreement was for a 15-minute interview, with half of it devoted to the CGI. The interviewer can ask the questions in whatever order he likes, as long as that 50/50 division is respected.\

> When you make a promise to conduct an interview on certain topics, then change the scope AFTER the interviewee has agreed, it is "sandbagging".

Anonymous is still not telling the truth. The scope of the interview was wide open. He could ask any questions he wanted on any subject. As long as half the interview focused on the CGI.

anon your problem like most liberals is the understanding common sense. You have been living in a world of liberal bullshit and hypocrisy for so long you just assume bullshit as beng normal.
How are you privy to agreements between Klinton and Wallace for the parameters of the interview??
Secondly I applaud Wallace for being a real journalist and asking the tough questionsthat he as never asked in 8 years of his presidency and the the six years since he finally and thankfully left office. At least Wallace did not hand over money to Klinton during the interview like olbernuttjob did.
For all the years of his presidency Klinton got softballs lobbed at him from so called news outlets like CNN ( the Clinton News network) and others.
You flaming leftard idiot , you cannot even see the bullshit when you are up to your eyes in your own bullshit.
Klinton WAS a rapist and pervert! He repeatedly violated the Constitution by signing the "Brady bill" and gave technology to the Chinese that in the future migh compromise OUR national security. Klintona was and is a scumbag not worthy of respect. He got a free pass for 8 years.
Call me all you want you hypocrite leftard but Klinton was and is a scumbag and Olbermann is a hypocrite leftist shill . And dumbasses like you support them. Go whine to somebody that cares you a--hole- I damn sure don't.

Olbermann can give his money to anyone he wants. It's wonderful to give to charity! He is a wonderful human being for trying to help people.

But come on.....most NORMAL people give inconspicuously, not on their nationally televised and HEAVILLY advertised "news show." I was watching NBC Nightly News with Brian WIlliams and Olbyfink was touted during commercials. It didn't mention it was going to be, "How, look how generous and thoughtful COUNTDOWN MAN is!"

Then to say, “…well, here’s eight more schools in Kenya from me…” is really over the top. You got to admit that!

"Big Ego" is not the word here. Narcissistic adolescent would just about describe Olbywuss for me.

Olbyshrill's behavior is very consistent with the rightous indignation, soapbox preachery, holier-than-thou bluster and now the, "I'll show everyone how generous I am" stunt. Mirror, mirror on the wall......you know the rest........

"How are you privy to agreements between Klinton and Wallace for the parameters of the interview??"

Well, according to sources from both sides that were familiar with the negotiation, Clinton agreed on the condition that the topic be the Clinton Global Initiative.

As for the rest of your screed, you continue to act like a FUCKING HYPOCRITE. You call him "Klinton". It's Mr. Clinton to you, pal, at the very least. Show some respect or GET THE HELL OUT OF MY FACE with your BULLSHIT.

you can donate to anybody you feel like. I donate but I would have more class and much better taste than to hand money to somebody, especially Klinton, while I was interviewing him on TV., trying to pass myself off as an impartial or evebn genuine reporter. Olbytard handing Klinton a check was one of the most uncool stupid things I have ever seen on TV and I watched Dan Rather - babble and Brokaw twitch and lisp for years!
Doing good when nobody is watching is called responsiblity , doing good so everybody can see how good you want them to think you are is immature, pandering and downright juvenile.
I am sure a shrink would have field day with what olbernutjob did. He is like the guy who has the BIG car to make up for his own insecurities and inadequecies in other areas. The Olbymann obviously has some issues.

No, they are celebrities and "movers/shakers" who are trying to set an example to the rest of us mindless twits who do not give to charity (I hope you understand I am being sarcastic).

The current trend to have a million different foundations, all with celebrity reps has grown to a ridiculous number. The value and validity of this trend is for another website (I tend to think it has gotten ridiculous...I imagine people sitting in Beverly Hills restaurants comparing their foundations and who they saw at the fund raiser...etc...ridiculous).

Olbyfool was MAKING A DONATION DURING AN INTERVIEW! Put it in the mail, go to the dinner and walk down the red carpet or start your own pet cause....but to hand a check over gushing and saying, “…well, here’s eight more schools in Kenya from me…” is just flagrant kissing butt behavior.

Then....to criticize a colleague’s interview approach TO THE SAME INTERVIEWEE on another network is classless!

Give me an example of someone like Tim Russert or Mike Wallace (or the dope's hero Murrow) doing any of the above and I will admit I am being hard on the guy.

Nonfactor, O'Lielly and the rest of the Keith apologists: Name me ONE, that's just ONE journalist who has EVER handed a check to someone on-air for a charity that wasn't being made by their corporation and then I'll agree it's no big deal. And while you're doing the research for that, as I'm sure you'll WANT to do, to clear your buddy's name, why don't you come back here and tell us what journalistic ethics codes say about conflict of interest, bias, and the exchange of money for an interview.

Can someone be banned from this site (Sarah) for harrassment? Yeah I know, many of the posts here are of the harrassing nature but my goodness, she's scaring me. I'm all for expressing one's views but what the hell is she contributing (pro or con)to the spirit of this site anyway? She's not expressing a view...she's spewing out venom deep from within a very tortured soul. Wait a minute!! Could it be Olbermanngoo?? Seriously, to me, she's a lot of noise and she needs to be filtered out. Am I the only one who feels this way?

I do not see any reason to ban Sarah from this site. She is not "spamming" on the site. I do not agree that she is not expressing a view - she is expressing the view that this site and the people who write for it are all worthless and that comments by the clear-thinking readers are worthless. She is just one of many trolls who pop on to this site from time to time. Since I began this site in 2004 there have plenty OlbyLoons who do exactly what she is doing and the site has grown in popularity. And maybe not in spite of them but because of them.

There are ways to moderate the site but having tried them all I feel open commenting with rare banning of commenters is best.

If you do not like what she has to say the best thing to do is to blurb over her comments and any other comments responding to her. The best way to deal with a troll is just ignore them.

Think of it this way. The only benefit Sarah gets from commenting on this site is because she derives happiness from your annoyance. If you and others ignore her and deny her that pleasure she will not get any benefit from posting here which will make it less interesting for her. In the past this has taken weeks or months but eventually trolls like Sarah fade away.

Therefore, your time would be better spent admonishing your fellow clear-thinkers to stop responding to her and just skip over her comments.

I don't put nonfactor, hit_escape, Eris Bob and O'leily in the same category because unlike sarah they are at least engaging on the topics at hand. But the same goes for them or anyone else - if you don't like hearing from certain people just do what I do and ignore them. If it is REALLY bugging you try not reading the comments for a few days.

Anon if you had any common sense you would understand that if you propose to present yourself as a journalist you don't hand the guy you are about to interview a check! There is a proper place , time and forum for making donations. Tell me oh great olbyloon defender have you EVER seen any so called "journalist" EVER give somebody money before an interview? Once again Olbyloon puts his crediblity in the toilet. Not that he ever had any to begin with anyway.
Hey man it's great to donate to charitable causes. Hell even a crusty old conservative curmudgeon like me gives to charity. Especially since Katrina I have given a certain part of my income to the ASPCA and Homeless pets to help abandoned, mistreated dogs and cats. I adhere strongly to the old adage " the more I find out about people the better I like my dog".
Charity is good but doing it like olbyloon did was just not cool. A more appropriate time would have been for him would have been at least at the end of his broadcast to metnion he gave. Giving somebody acheck before you interview them gives a strong message about the tone, scope and direction of the interview. It destroys any sense of impartiality on Olbloon's part. But impartiality has never been olby's strong suit anyway.

whatever- the beautiful thing was that some real journalist had the balls to actually ask klinton to his face a real question, a tough question. Klinton did his usual finger wagging thing and we all know how it turned out the last time he wagged his finger at us and asked us to believe him. and as usual like his bitch wife he blamed the "vast right wing conspiracy". Well I am proud to be part of that "vast right wing conspiracy". A conspiracy that hopefully will never allow a scumbag like him to ever be president again.

Tough questions? Like what Wallace did? Those weren't tough questions, those were typical questions used to have a "Gotcha" moment, but it backfired and Clinton was upset about his misinformation and laid out some facts.

" it backfired and Clinton was upset about his misinformation and laid out some facts"

I am not going to fisk Clinton's replies to Wallace but off the top of my head I heard half a dozen things from Clinton that were not true. I am sure a few bloggers will be giving the interview the once over.

for 8 years Klinton got softball questions from his own public news service CNN. It is because of CNN's lack of what you call "gotcha" questions but the rest of us call repsonsible journalism and asking tough questions that entities like FOX came to be.
Wallace is a pretty unbiased and fair, real journalist unlike Olbermann who hands him money before the interview in which he massages both his overstuffed ego and Klinton's ass.
The last time Kliton got anything resembling a non patronizing real question he wagged his finger from his podium and we all know how well that turned out for him and his credibilty.
Today CNN attacks and questions Bush on everything. Too bad they did not do the same to Klinton. I even remember vividly CNN's anchor Judy Woodruf almost in tears when they announced the Klinton impeachment. Blitzer and all the other CNN Klinton ass kissers never once gave him anything even remotely approaching a tough question. Klinton was the biggest sleaze and sham ever foisted on this country and CNN and their like were his enablers.
Klinton said that he tried to get BinLaden and failed. Being the pathological liar he is I don't know what to believe.
If you want gotcha moments watch the olbermann act. The only thing with olbermann is he never has anybody on his "news" show to play gotcha with. So he plays it in his mind. he has guests that agree with him never anything to rock his plotically correct little mind. Olbermann's show is nothing more than mental masturbation for left wingnuts who cannot stand in the face of criticism or dissent.

you call that raisin that lives inside your skull a brain?? HA now that's funny!
I'll just bet you read it you little leftard English teacher.
you also left out the very best part non-brainer- the part where I proved that you are brain dead shitbag.
well you were almost right but you are way too left to be right. Hey if you don't like what I say nobody is putting a gun to your pointed little head and making you read it are they?
Maybe you should look deep at your own foibles and incomprehensible posts and laughable,delusional views before you try and criticize others. What are you trying to do man, get on olbermanns show or something??
you will have to do better than that leftard.

I want to recieve all of Keith's bloges please. He is the one person that I agree with all the time. Scarry isn't it? No really, he makes more sense than any one in the field. His comments at the end of his shows are superb!!!!! Please add me to the mailing list. Mary Schmitt

Olbermann Watch is the #1 source for all things Keith Olbermann so bookmark this page, subscribe to the RSS feed (see the top of the home page) and you will get links to all blog posts from or about Keith.